Does Passive Smoking Affect The Skin?

If you are a smoker you will have bad skin. There is no gentle way to say this. I don’t smoke; one of the many reasons being the fear of an early onset of fine lines and wrinkles. You must have noticed how most smokers have ashen looking skin, exaggerated fine lines and deeper set wrinkles. But what I didn’t know was that being around smokers was affecting my skin as well. There was nothing passive about being a passive smoker!

Chemical Dungeon: There are over 200 harmful chemical substances present in every puff of a cigarette. Some of the most common chemicals found in cigarette smoke are tar, arsenic and carbon monoxide. Tar is carcinogenic in nature, carbon monoxide impedes the oxygen distribution in the body and arsenic affects the production of neurotransmitters. Together these substances speed up the break down of Vitamin A affecting collagen production and the skin’s ability to regenerate. Thus, the aging process accelerates. Research shows that the smoke coming out of a vehicle’s exhaust and that coming out of a cigarette have a similar chemical composition. All logic defies me where one wouldn’t suck on to the end of a vehicle’s exhaust but is willing to suck on a cigarette end that contains the same harmful chemicals! If you are in the midst of smokers surrounded by cigarette smoke, as a passive smoker you are subjected to the same 200+ harmful chemicals with the air you breathe in. Time to introspect, isn’t it? Cigarette smoke also contains quinoline. Quinoline exposure can lead to skin rashes even through passive smoking. Second hand smoke can also lead to skin scarring. This is because the concentration of harmful substances (carbon monoxide, tar, nicotine etc.) is much higher in second hand smoke than when inhaled.

Stop! How can you stop being a passive smoker? Simple. You need to avoid places with cigarette smoke. Encourage your smoker friends to quit or change the company that you keep. Avoid smoking zones at work and keep your home smoke free. Place a potted plant in your home or office space (if your colleagues smoke). Plants purify the air that we breathe and definitely reduce the toxic effects of smoke.

Don’t smoke, be it first hand or second – you will find your anti-aging cream working its miracle.